10 week old sleep advice

[newbie6]

Hi

My LO is just over 10 weeks and is formula fed. I feed him at 5pm and he goes down in his crib by 6.30pm, he settles himself to sleep which is great. He either wakes himself about 10.30pm but if not I wake him to feed him. He tends to sleep through till about 2am but normally we let him gurn as he isn't crying and we are trying to stretch the time out a little so it tends to be about 2.30am or 3am when we feed again. This sees him through till about 6am. I'm keen to try and cut out the 3am feed as others seem to have babies at the same stage doing this but wondered if anyone had any advice? Totally appreciate all babies are different but was just interested in case I am doing something wrong as this is my first baby. He feeds well throughout the day and night, I feed him every 3 hours normally during day and he takes anything from 3oz to 5oz but usually takes about 6oz at his 5pm feed. Would it help if I gave him the hungry milk at 5pm to see if that makes him sleep through? He doesn't really have long sleeps during the day anymore, typically sleeps about 3 hours in total but each nap tends to be anything from 30mins to an hour. Also, he is normally awake by 6am but is it important to wake them at the same time every morning?

Any advice welcome!

X

Ah your baby sounds just like mine was at that age. Of course you re keen to cut out 2 am feed but he is still so little. Yes some babies will go for longer at this time. But from 15 babies in my baby group all the same age my DD was the first to go from 10pm to 6am and that wasn't until 13 weeks and not consistent for a few weeks longer. Funnily enough though she is one of the last ones to still need the 10pm feed (although delayed weaning until 6 months). I would say continue as you are and you will get a lovely surprise one day soon. Just be patient. I also found that it was easier to just feed her when she awoke rather than try and stretch it out, as you tend to stay awake anyway and your LO is awake longer so becomes fully awake which could form a habit. Personally I would just give her a bottle check nappy and back to sleep. That's just me though others might say different. Also I think how many bottles in day and the amount he is drinking will affect it too. My dd needed minimum 750ml to sleep through (unless growth spurt). However that will differ from baby to baby and depend on weight etc. I expect that his little tummy is just too small to hold enough to see him through the night yet. Hang in there you will soon be enjoying more sleep

Sorry just read OP again. Why don't you give feeds at say 6am when he wakes and then 3 hourly as you are, but try and give a last feed at 6.30pm. I always woke my DD by about 7.30am so she could feed enough in day. However she did this naturally so I only really had to wake her a couple of times. I would definitely NOT give hungry baby milk. I really think your LO has a too small tummy to be full enough to sustain him all night yet and artificially filling it with hungry baby milk won't be best for him. Anyway good luck I hope I am not coming across as a horrible bossy boots. I am terrible at giving advice in the right tone, especially in writing

Not at all thank you! I tend to split his 5pm feed so he finishes the bottle about 6.15pm then I put him down. Not going to give the hungry milk as have read mixed reviews so agree with what you say. Thanks again !

Oh phew, glad to be helpful. Is he your first? I wish I had known about mumsnet when I first had DD I was so worried about everything and getting it right. I was a 'research queen' and now I feel the need to impart knowledge, ha ha mind you as all babies are so different I will probably be no better off if I have another one and have lots of new things to worry about.

Hi, congrats on your new addition. I also have a 10 week old, DD is my second & because i did no routine or structure with my first that i tried to be a bit more organised & also be led by her. She was on 6 feeds every 3 hrs but the amount would trickle off as it didn't seem a long enough gap for her, she now has 5 feeds pretty much every 4 hours (6-7, 11, 3, 7 & 10-11) of about 6oz each feed & normally 7oz for last one...she then sleeps through till 5/6am, which is amazing (my DS didn't) sleep through till about 8 month). Do you have set feeding times, would your DS take more at each feed or last one? Hungry milk gets mixed reviews, was nightmare for my first. Good luck x

Hi

Yes, first and no doubt only child :) re feeding times, tends to be 7,11,2,5 which is a split feed so he finishes the bottle about 6.15 and then fed again at 10.30pm. During the day he tends to take 3 to 5oz, cannot get him to take 6oz v often although always put 6oz in each feed. He normally always takes 6 to 7oz at the 5pm split feed and when he wakes during the night he is taking 4oz normally?

X

You say that now....so did i

Have you tried winding him after he stops initially? I did this with my DD & then she took the rest? Also could you push last feed back a bit, might get him to last longer?

Yes, always wind him. Thinking of trying last feed about 11pm to see how that works. He will be 11 weeks on Fri so not sure if he is due another growth spurt which is maybe why he is more unsettled at night?